Apple nabs crown as current top US mobile phone vendor

Apple's reign may not be long, as Samsung is poised to overtake Apple in 2013.

For the first time since Apple entered the mobile phone market in 2007, it has been ranked the top mobile phone vendor in the US. For the latter quarter of 2012, sales of its iPhone accounted for 34 percent of all mobile phone sales in the US—including feature phones—according to the latest data from Strategy Analytics.

While the iPhone has consistently been ranked the top smartphone sold in the US, market research firm NPD noted that feature phone sales have fallen off a cliff recently, to the point where 8 out of every 10 mobile phones sold in the US are now smartphones. That ratio is up considerably from the end of 2011, when smartphones had just cracked the 50 percent mark. Given this fact, it's no surprise that Apple, which only sells smartphones, has been able to reach the top of the overall mobile phone market domestically.

For the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple ranked number one with 34 percent of the US mobile market, up from 25.6 percent year over year. Samsung grew similarly, up to 32.3 percent from 26.9 percent—but not enough to keep from slipping to second place. LG dropped to 9 percent from 13.7 percent, holding its third place spot. It should be noted that Samsung and LG both sell a variety of feature phones in addition to smartphones.

Looking only at smartphones, the ranking is a little different according to NPD. Apple holds the top spot with 39 percent of the US smartphone market, while Samsung again sits at number two with 30 percent. Motorola manages to rank third with 7 percent, while HTC dropped to fourth with 6 percent. In the US smartphone market, LG is fifth with 6 percent. Note how the percentages aren't all that different from overall mobile phone market share—for all intents and purposes, the smartphone market is the mobile phone market in the US going forward.

Still, Samsung was the top mobile phone vendor overall for 2012, and Strategy Analytics expects Samsung to be back on top soon. "Samsung had been the number one mobile phone vendor in the US since 2008, and it will surely be keen to recapture that title in 2013 by launching improved new models such as the rumored Galaxy S4."

And while Apple is the top vendor overall and its iPhone 5 is the top smartphone, its iOS platform is still second to the Android platform overall. Samsung is the largest vendor selling Android-based smartphones, but Motorola, HTC, LG, and others also sell Android devices, giving the platform a clear advantage over iOS both domestically and globally.

Promoted Comments

I don't actually believe the numbers for Samsung. Ever since the debacle in early 2011, when Lenovo called into question the numbers Samsung was touting for tablet shipments, stating that Samsung had only sold 20,000 of the 1.5 million tablets they shipped into the US the last quarter of 2010, Samsung (who had no response to Lenovo) has refused to supply quarterly sales numbers for smartphones or tablets. That's an indication that their sales aren't what analysts are saying.

We can look to several things to help understand why. In the lawsuit between Apple and Samsung here last year, both were required to supply real sales numbers for devices under contention. The phones listed turned out to have sales between one third and one half of what had been guessed by IDC and others. Tablet sales were even worse. Of the 1.5 million tablets supposedly shipped to the US during that time, only 38,000 were sold.

Then we have the usage numbers. Samsung tablets have only a 1.5% usage rate, where the iPad has over 90%. Not as much a difference with the phones but it's still overwhelmingly in favor of the iPhone.

The problem is that with Apple's sales, we have actual numbers to go by. The companies who estimate can calibrate what they do after those numbers come out. But with Samsung and many others, they can't ever calibrate their methods, as there are no confirming numbers released from the firms. A few quarters ago, as a result, we saw iSupply estimate Samsung's smartphone sales for the quarter at 32 million, with estimates from others all over the place up to 50 million. Each time some other company reported a higher number for that same quarter, the press dutifully used that higher number as THE ONE. But none of them was the one.

Without accurate reporting from the companies themselves as to actual sales to the end user (us!). None of these marketshare charts are worth a damn.

No surprise Samsung is winning, I just got almost new unlocked Galaxy Note off ebay for mere $350 US (extra battery, extra case, shipping and taxes are all included), this is a steal considering what this phone is. iPhone can't compete with that as a pocket PC, no way. Better app selection does not compensate way smaller screen with lower res, and even then this better selection is evaporating fast, the gap between Google Play and iTunes shrinks every day literally.. And Android 4.1 (in a form of cyanogenmod 10.1 'cause Samsung won't bother releasing JB for Galaxy Note 1) will solve the last remaining UI lag issues from Android 2.3, at least I hope it will Apple was king of the hill just two years ago but after I saw Galaxy Note... nah, not anymore. Samsung rocks.

P.S. they were also the first to deliver decent Windows 8 tablets to the US retail stores (ATIV Smart PC 500). These guys know how to ship stuff FAST.

I fail to see how Samsung is winning when Apple is still gobbling up 70% of the profits worldwide.

I'm also not too sure how Apple's iPhone isn't "competing" either just because it has a smaller screen. I guess that means the SIII isn't competition either since its screen is smaller than the Note's, too.

No surprise Apple is on top. They dominated the christmas season in the US. I think Apple will dominate in the next few years with maybe a few quarters of not coming out on top.

The retention rate of Apple's iPhone is staggering. The retention rate of Android is not as good. When Microsoft powered and Blackberry come into supply with their competitive offerings, as well as a few more come they will start to eat at Samsung's sales. I'm bullish on Apple.

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

Eh? It's great. It means more people to share app recommendations with, or to get them from. It means broad support for my device of choice (think Siri Hands Free being built into cars). It means lots of developers motivated to put their best into the platform. Etc.

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

What do you think I should feel? Because I actually don't care enough to "feel" anything. What I think is there is someone who is probably enjoying using their phone.

iPhone users, use their phones more? I saw a story yesterday that iPhone users had the biggest phone bills.

I know a few people with Android phones, and essentially they use it like a feature phones. They were just looking for a cheap new phone, and androids were cheaper (none of them have high end Android phones).

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

Awesome. It saves me money, as iOS to iOS text messaging is free. That's how I save money by not having an unlimited texting service.

I'm not sure it's so clear that Samsung will overtake Apple in 2013, looking at the source. In 2012, Apple went from 16% to 26% for the year, while Samsung only went from 28% to 32%. If that trend continues, both companies will be neck-and-neck around 36% for 2013.

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

Actually feels pretty good since I can see what apps they use or ask them what they find useful. Other than that, I really don't think about it since I'm a fairly busy person. I do really get annoyed at the "geekier than thou" 'tude of some Samsung SIII Android users. Nexus users at least have immediate street cred... Note users really stand out in a crowd-- and not necessarily in a good way.

iPhone users, use their phones more? I saw a story yesterday that iPhone users had the biggest phone bills.

I know a few people with Android phones, and essentially they use it like a feature phones. They were just looking for a cheap new phone, and androids were cheaper (none of them have high end Android phones).

FWIW I don't and have never owned a smart phone.

Which explains Apple's profits and also why developers prefer iOS over the feature phone replacement Android. Android has simply become the default replacement for feature phones, not the lead smartphone platform.

No surprise Samsung is winning, [... Galaxy Note praise ...] Apple was king of the hill just two years ago but after I saw Galaxy Note... nah, not anymore. Samsung rocks.

Samsung just slipped from number 1 to number 2, Apple just went from number 2 to number 1, and you think Apple is dying? Really?

Yes, I agree with you that the Note is better for your needs than anything Apple sells. But that's not because it's a better product, that's just because Apple doesn't sell any device that competes directly with the Note.

Pelsonaly, I'd rather have an iPhone or an iPad Mini than a Galaxy Note. But each to their own, competition is good.

We have a Nexus 7 at work for testing our HTML5 apps, I think if I was going to switch to Android I'd buy that instead of a Galaxy Note (I really think the Note is a stupid size, to big to take with me everywhere, too small to use at home or at work).

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

What do you think I should feel? Because I actually don't care enough to "feel" anything. What I think is there is someone who is probably enjoying using their phone.

Bingo. Why on earth should I care what other people use? It seems wildly insecure and, franky, foolish to derive any sense of uniqueness from a possession (let alone a 200$ gadget that anyone with a minimum wage job can handily afford). Millions of people use the same video card, OS, CPU, car, etc -- still couldn't care less. You'll also note that other smartphones sell in the millions (with Samsung selling many many millions, and Android-based smartphones outnumbering iPhones), so finding someone who uses the same phone/OS isn't going to be difficult.

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

Eh? It's great. It means more people to share app recommendations with, or to get them from. It means broad support for my device of choice (think Siri Hands Free being built into cars). It means lots of developers motivated to put their best into the platform. Etc.

Oh, that's cool, thanks. Quite disturbing to see a mass amount of haters/denied/insecure people down vote to hell when I was only asking a question, sheesh. +1

How come all the articles I've seen on this report ignore (or only mention in passing) the part where it says the US mobile phone market contracted by 10,7% last year. That seems pretty significant to me, and most certainly worth a closer look (unless of course, one just wants the phone that best fits ones needs, in which case all of this is insignificant).

I don't actually believe the numbers for Samsung. Ever since the debacle in early 2011, when Lenovo called into question the numbers Samsung was touting for tablet shipments, stating that Samsung had only sold 20,000 of the 1.5 million tablets they shipped into the US the last quarter of 2010, Samsung (who had no response to Lenovo) has refused to supply quarterly sales numbers for smartphones or tablets. That's an indication that their sales aren't what analysts are saying.

We can look to several things to help understand why. In the lawsuit between Apple and Samsung here last year, both were required to supply real sales numbers for devices under contention. The phones listed turned out to have sales between one third and one half of what had been guessed by IDC and others. Tablet sales were even worse. Of the 1.5 million tablets supposedly shipped to the US during that time, only 38,000 were sold.

Then we have the usage numbers. Samsung tablets have only a 1.5% usage rate, where the iPad has over 90%. Not as much a difference with the phones but it's still overwhelmingly in favor of the iPhone.

The problem is that with Apple's sales, we have actual numbers to go by. The companies who estimate can calibrate what they do after those numbers come out. But with Samsung and many others, they can't ever calibrate their methods, as there are no confirming numbers released from the firms. A few quarters ago, as a result, we saw iSupply estimate Samsung's smartphone sales for the quarter at 32 million, with estimates from others all over the place up to 50 million. Each time some other company reported a higher number for that same quarter, the press dutifully used that higher number as THE ONE. But none of them was the one.

Without accurate reporting from the companies themselves as to actual sales to the end user (us!). None of these marketshare charts are worth a damn.

iPhone users, use their phones more? I saw a story yesterday that iPhone users had the biggest phone bills.

I know a few people with Android phones, and essentially they use it like a feature phones. They were just looking for a cheap new phone, and androids were cheaper (none of them have high end Android phones).

FWIW I don't and have never owned a smart phone.

Which explains Apple's profits and also why developers prefer iOS over the feature phone replacement Android. Android has simply become the default replacement for feature phones, not the lead smartphone platform.

Ok. I'm gonna call BS on this one.This is PROBABLY more likely the truth to it......

iconmaster wrote:

Eh? It's great. It means more people to share app recommendations with, or to get them from. It means broad support for my device of choice (think Siri Hands Free being built into cars). It means lots of developers motivated to put their best into the platform. Etc.

When you have a platform that is THAT well-distributed, and has as many users on a common device like that.... it makes for a TON of efficiency for the dev.

Well, unless say, you create a new model that uses a completely new aspect ratio. THEN the devs will be less thrilled, which we HAVE seen with the iPhone5.

I don't actually believe the numbers for Samsung. Ever since the debacle in early 2011, when Lenovo called into question the numbers Samsung was touting for tablet shipments, stating that Samsung had only sold 20,000 of the 1.5 million tablets they shipped into the US the last quarter of 2010, Samsung (who had no response to Lenovo) has refused to supply quarterly sales numbers for smartphones or tablets. That's an indication that their sales aren't what analysts are saying.

We can look to several things to help understand why. In the lawsuit between Apple and Samsung here last year, both were required to supply real sales numbers for devices under contention. The phones listed turned out to have sales between one third and one half of what had been guessed by IDC and others. Tablet sales were even worse. Of the 1.5 million tablets supposedly shipped to the US during that time, only 38,000 were sold.

Then we have the usage numbers. Samsung tablets have only a 1.5% usage rate, where the iPad has over 90%. Not as much a difference with the phones but it's still overwhelmingly in favor of the iPhone.

The problem is that with Apple's sales, we have actual numbers to go by. The companies who estimate can calibrate what they do after those numbers come out. But with Samsung and many others, they can't ever calibrate their methods, as there are no confirming numbers released from the firms. A few quarters ago, as a result, we saw iSupply estimate Samsung's smartphone sales for the quarter at 32 million, with estimates from others all over the place up to 50 million. Each time some other company reported a higher number for that same quarter, the press dutifully used that higher number as THE ONE. But none of them was the one.

Without accurate reporting from the companies themselves as to actual sales to the end user (us!). None of these marketshare charts are worth a damn.

Oh. I get what you're saying. Though, you are mixing apples and oranges a little bit, as the article is about phone sales and not tablets, and you mix that up in the middle of it.

Your last sentence though is, in a way, spot on. There are ways to derive estimates, but for the most part, a lot of this is still smoke and mirrors in a way.

I fall back to my last point though..... Apple still sells a lot of stuff, and is turning a tidy profit. The drop in its stock price is still a bit baffling to me. Yes, I understand "why". I just think that "why" is utterly ridiculous and is kind of a poor way to value a company.

(And again.... no, I'm not an Apple fan. I'm just trying to be somewhat objective.)

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

Eh? It's great. It means more people to share app recommendations with, or to get them from. It means broad support for my device of choice (think Siri Hands Free being built into cars). It means lots of developers motivated to put their best into the platform. Etc.

Oh, that's cool, thanks. Quite disturbing to see a mass amount of haters/denied/insecure people down vote to hell when I was only asking a question, sheesh. +1

Well it came across as a self satisfied question, I think if you're in it for the up votes, you may need to use more neutral rhetoric, but if you were in it for the insight - you have 5+ honest answers.

Not surprised. May I ask to those who has owned iPhones.. how does it feel when the random person next to you, behind you and the person your gonna meet in the next few minutes all happen to have iPhones?

Eh? It's great. It means more people to share app recommendations with, or to get them from. It means broad support for my device of choice (think Siri Hands Free being built into cars). It means lots of developers motivated to put their best into the platform. Etc.

Oh, that's cool, thanks. Quite disturbing to see a mass amount of haters/denied/insecure people down vote to hell when I was only asking a question, sheesh. +1

Now this, people, is the very definition of the word "disingenuous".

"Oh no, why did you vote me down when I was clearly not trying to make a point about Apple-using "sheep" like in every other of my posts about Apple?" *bats eyes innocently*

Exhibits A-through-C:

Carbon Fibre wrote:

Though sadly, this won't convince a single bit of hard headed sheep and their $1k pads.

Carbon Fibre wrote:

Actually, why would anyone buy an iPad at all when you have other competing OS's and hardware better and effective in cost? But of course, the horde of f*** iSheep will down vote in disgust, like always.

Carbon Fibre wrote:

But of course, the horde of sheep to downvote in denial and disgust typically found in Ars. Vote away sheep.